Tuesday, June 16, 2009

King Tut

dallas recently had the King Tut exhibit in downtown for viewers to come and see ancient Egyptian artifacts. "Well whoop de doo" said Mayor Moncrief, allegedly. Fort Worth has had its very own King Tut exhibit for over 15 years and ours comes with lunch specials, chicken shwarma, and all the Egyptian decorations you need for a Bangles' music video.

You're thinking, "what kind of food does King Tut serve?" Egyptian, obviously. "What is Egyptian food," you continue. Sand.

Actually, according to my acute culinary distinction skills, Egyptian food is Greek food, is Mediterranean food. Sure, the Egyptians and Greek share a sea, but I would have expected a different menu. The food that I saw at King Tut seemed very similar to the food at Scampi's and Chadra Mezza. That isn't to take anything away from those two restaurants which both have delicious food and amazing atmospheres. But they don't have Egyptian decorations. Seriously, there are sarcophagi, pyramidal things, and hieroglyphics everywhere. Even the menu is in ancient hieroglyphics.

I went for lunch recently and had the Chicken Shwarma. This dish is a mixture of chicken pieces, tomatoes and onions, cooked together with a side of rice. The lunch specials are all $6.95 and include a salad, however, no substitions are allowed. If you, like a certain Hole In The Wall father, suggest beef instead of chicken in your shwarma, you'll spend the rest of lunch in a sarcophagus.

The chicken was tender and flavorful and the onions and tomatoes made for a healthy feeling meal. My rice had good flavor but was a bit dry. Egypt is mostly desert though, so that makes sense. However, with the salad this was a perfect sized lunch meal that will satiate your appetite without making you feel stuffed. King Tut also has some vegetarian options, but you'll have to wait until the Nile flood waters recede.

At dinner time, the prices rise significantly so head over at lunch for the better value. As an example, hummus was about $5 and most dinner entrees seemed to range from $10-$15.

If you missed the King Tut exhibit, remember that the Fort has all the essential ingredients of Egyptian history right here on Magnolia Avenue. If you've been, let me know what you think. If you haven't, walk like an Egyptian on over there. Admit it, you were expecting that at some point...

King Tut is at 1512 West Magnolia Avenue, and is closed on Sundays.

King Tut on Urbanspoon

12 comments:

nemajo said...

Pretty good Shwarma.. Also like the ampler platter.

Was disappointed that hey wouldn't let me BYOB though. for that reason, makes a better lunch date than dinner..

Kevin Buchanan said...

They have the best veggie shwarma in town (and great falafel, too). Awesome place.

I do think part of the reason the dinner menu is more expensive is because the dinner portions are absolutely massive.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Nemajo, do they have alcoholic beverages available for purchase at dinner? For those of you who are wondering, Scampi's is BYOB (with a corking fee I believe) and Chadra Mezza has a full bar.

Kevin, thanks for the explanation regarding the price. So it would it be fair to say you could share a dinner entree?

bourgon said...

Love the place, and have been going for (ye gods I'm old) over a decade. Best. Hummus. Evar.

The Shwarma, from what I gather, is different from others; I really prefer King Tut's, it's a lot moister. Of course, I make an abomination of it; order the beef shwarma with rice, pour the tahini over it all, mix it all together, and enjoy.

My wife loves their Beef Macaroni, and my 3-year-old is addicted to their Hummus. And yes, prepare for leftovers.

JLT said...

Alcohol is not allowed at King Tut.

Unknown said...

While I realize Arlington is "so far", if you're ever in the area check out Prince Lebanese on Randoll Mill. Their chicken shwarma is amazing and lunch portions are huge. The prices are pretty good and I find myself craving their food at least twice a week now.

Anonymous said...

Great for both lunch and dinner. Great eggplant appetizer. Schwarma is very good and salad w/ King Tut house dressing also must try.

Unknown said...

I love King Tut's. They really do have the best veggie schwarma ever! I could eat it every day (but then I'd go broke :-(.

And the dinner portions are massive. I usually have to take part of it home.

Ashley said...

I love the falafel, hummus and baba ganoush. Don't go very often because dinner is a bit pricey, maybe I should try lunch.

Anonymous said...

Yes, there are downsides to Tut. But the Shwarma makes up for it. I'm a diehard "wont go to a restaurant without a bar" person, but Tut is my one exception in the whole city. It's that good.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

So the key is to eat at dinner and share a dish. That's brilliant.

Ashley, please explain what baba ganoush is. I've always heard of it but never tried it.

Anonymous, do you have a drinking problem? You can talk about it here. We're all friends. Except that we don't know you.

Anonymous said...

Baba Ganoush (sp?) is the eggplant dip on the ap. menu. Excellent! I have much respect for the food quality and the kitchen as I once worked there. At the time it was the cleanest kitchen I've ever seen in Fort Worth. I didn't care for the owner at all but will give credit where due. Falafels are excellent, I loved the hummus and baba ganoush and shwarma.